Join us for an in-depth exploration of biblical prophecy as we discuss the enigmatic angels bound in the river Euphrates and the frightening picture painted in Revelation 9. David Hawking guides us through the unfolding of God’s judgment, helping believers understand the role of these supernatural beings and how God remains in control amidst chaos.
00:00:00 Introduction and Concerns about Tribulation
The other day a man came up to me and said, you know, you’ve been kind of emphasizing that we’re not going to go through the tribulation. And he said, I’m very concerned that we will not be prepared if we do go through the tribulation. And I thought to myself as I appreciated the question and the observation, exactly what would we do to prepare for the great tribulation?
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
It begins like the distant roll of thunder, steady, relentless, drawing closer. Soon it’s the roar of a million warhorses, shaking the ground like a living earthquake. And then they appear, 200 million strong, breathing fire, smoke, and sulfur, leaving destruction in their wake until one-third of mankind is gone. Day one of The Army from the East, found in Revelation 9, verses 13 to 21, is coming your way next on Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. First, we want to let you know about a daily dose of encouragement that’s just a click away. It’s called Meditations in the Psalms. This is David Hawking’s online daily devotional, and it’s on our website, davidhawking.org. Each day you’ll walk through a passage from the Psalms, gain insight into God’s Word, and find fresh strength for whatever you might be facing. Meditations in the Psalms is free and it’s easy to access right there on the homepage of DavidHawking.org. And listen, this is a great way to start or end your day in Scripture. Again, you can read each day’s devotion at DavidHawking.org. Well, let’s get to Revelation chapter 9, verses 13 to 21 now. And here’s David with day one of The Army from the East.
SPEAKER 03 :
We now come to the next woe, the sixth trumpet judgment. Remind yourself it’s a seven-sealed scroll that we are unraveling that tells the whole story of God’s judgment to come. The seals are on the top of the scroll, so when you break it, you can unravel a little bit more. We’ve already broken six seals. When the seventh one is broken, we have seven trumpet judgments as a part of that seal. When the seventh trumpet is blown, we have seven bowls of wrath that are poured out that are called the seven last plagues. So really the seventh seal is the longest part of the scroll. It’s just a huge message dealing with the last three and a half years of the tribulation period approximately. Revelation chapter 9 and beginning at verse 13, down to the end of the chapter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels who are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for an hour and a day and a month and a year to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand, and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them having breastplates of fire and of jacinth and brimstone. And the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, by the smoke, and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails. For their tails were like serpents and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues yet repented not. Apparently, folks, things are going to get worse. You know, every time you open the paper, You know, you’re reading tragedy. Every time you turn on the news, it’s just more tragic information about what’s happening in our world. Several key leaders say it’s out of control. You think this is out of control? Wait till the tribulation. Exactly what would we do to prepare for the great tribulation? This is one event in chapter 9 that’s indeed frightening. Is this going to happen? Are we going to see this invasion of an army of such proportions as described in this? Is this figurative or is this literal? Is there going to be this kind of panic? Is one-third of the population of the world, that would be close to two billion people, are we going to see two billion people killed in just this one thing alone? It’s unbelievable what’s happening. Already one-fourth of the world has been killed. And if the world stands at 6 billion, then 1.5 billion of them got killed already. Actually, there’s a couple other remarks indicating more were killed, but let’s just stick it at the one-fourth that was earlier in the book. And that would leave you, what, 4.5? And then you’re going to see a third of them. That’s another 1.5, which means at this point we’re not done yet. One-half of the population of the world is already wiped out. We’re talking terrible tragedy, like the world has never seen, nothing close to it. And this is what we call the Great Tribulation. Our subject, the army from the east. The sixth trumpet judgment, the second woe, and I’d like you to see just three things about this army. In verse 13, 14, and 15, the opening three verses, the control of the army is presented to us, and we need to always remember who’s really in control. According to the Bible, God does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth. He does all according to his will. God is in control. How many of you honestly say that this day has kind of looked like things are out of control? Amen? Yeah. Many of you. The rest of you, of course, not being honest and truthful. Life seems like that. Nothing goes right. Everything’s just crazy. And there’s no justice in the world. And you wonder sometimes when the Bible says the judge of all the earth will do right. Well, did he remember what I went through today? And God is in control. The Bible says his sovereignty rules over all. And he does whatever he pleases in heaven and in earth. That’s a hard lesson. I’d like you to see five things about that control. One is the playing of the trumpet, don’t ever forget, was under the direction of Almighty God. This isn’t a coincidence. This isn’t somebody in heaven saying, I think it’s time to blow this. No, it’s all under the direction of God. We read in verse 13, the sixth angel sounded. We’ll jump back to chapter 8 too and remind yourself of it. It says, I saw the seven angels who stood before God. and to them were given seven trumpets. God’s in control here. He’s going to tell them when to announce these judgments. Verse 6 of chapter 8 says, The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. They are at the bidding and the direction of Almighty God. The second thing I notice, back to verse 13, is the proclamation of the voice. It comes from God. There’s no other choice. I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God. The golden altar is mentioned seven times in the book of Revelation. It’s a part of the answer of God to the prayers of the saints who have been suffering all these years. Go back to chapter 6, and let’s remind ourselves of that. Chapter 6, verse 9. And this is the answer of God that’s coming, the judgments of the tribulation, to the prayers of all those who’ve been martyred. And they say, how long, O Lord? Verse 10, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Notice in verse 9, these souls were under the The altar. They were slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. This golden altar. Go to chapter 8, verse 3. In chapter 8, 3, remember the angel came having a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers. of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel throws the censer to the earth, and we hear this loud explosion of thunder and lightning and earthquake, and then God’s judgments come. So you see what you’re reading in verse 13 is the voice from the four horns of the golden altar. That’s God. Who’s in control here? God’s in control. Third, notice the place where the angels were bound. You talk about something that reveals the sovereign control of God Almighty. The voice says to the sixth angel, Loose the four angels who are bound in the great river Euphrates. Now right away the four angels hit you. I’ll tell you why. Because early, remember, we had four angels, cherubim, living creatures in heaven around the throne of God. There were four angels also in chapter 7. Turn back to chapter 7, verse 1. It says, after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. It deals with God telling them to hold back for a moment, don’t hurt it until we seal the servants of God, 144,000 Jews from the 12 tribes. And it goes on to describe God’s protection. So these angels are about ready to loose themselves the judgment of God. Four angels again, only this time they’re bound in the river Euphrates. Are there angels that are bound? Does the Bible teach that? Turn to 2 Peter 2, verse 4. 2 Peter 2. Is there a group of angels who are unable to do anything because they are bound? They’re in bondage. They’re in chains. Now, a lot of angels are exercising their ministry as the good angels of God, ministering spirits sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation, says Hebrews 1.14. And there are evil angels who are also doing their devilish work. We call them demons, unclean spirits. We’ve been talking about that recently. Well, who are these angels that are bound? In 2 Peter 2, verse 4, it says… For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, He goes on to discuss the judgment came during the time of Noah. Verse 5, Sodom and Gomorrah. Verse 6, and how God delivered Lot. And verse 9 says the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. Who are these angels that sinned? and are bound. The word hell is Tartarus, meaning the lower regions of the place of the unseen, or the wicked dead. Apparently a very special compartment in the torturous chamber we know of as hell, where God has bound up some angels. Angels have sinned. By the way, every demon, every evil spirit who is a fallen angel has sinned. Well, then what is this special group of angels that sinned in a particular way that was so awful that God bound them up to save them for a day of judgment that’s in the future? Turn to Jude, verse 6 and 7. In Jude 6 and 7, and by the way, the book of Jude, a one-chapter book, is dealing with the terrible infiltration of false teaching into the church of Jesus Christ, where through teaching God’s grace, they will turn things into just lasciviousness or uncontrolled desires. There will be all kinds of sins, prominent sins, And very little conviction or repentance. And these leaders are going to deny the Lord God who bought them. And so God reminds them of judgment that’s coming. And he illustrates it in verse 5 with saving the people out of the land of Egypt and then destroyed those that believe not in the wilderness. Now verse 6, here’s another example. And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved, watch this, in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. What’s that day? That’s the day of the Lord, the tribulation period. So apparently they’re unable to do anything because of something they did. They sinned terribly. They left their first estate. They fell into sin and something they did was awful. Verse 7 describes it. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner to these angels. They did the same thing. Giving themselves over to fornication. and going after strange flesh. It’s the Greek word heteros, another of a different kind. That’s our clue to what’s happened here. They are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Now they’re reserved for a special moment of judgment at the great day, which is the tribulation, when God’s going to loose some of them for his own purpose and then send them all to their final destiny, the lake of fire, where they will suffer the vengeance of God forever. Well, who in the world are these people that he’s talking about? These angels, these spirits? who left their first estate and went like Sodom and Gomorrah after strange flesh or flesh of a different kind. Now, why does God connect these angels that are bound with that situation? I don’t understand. When did angels sin in a like manner as the men of Sodom and Gomorrah who went after flesh that was another of a different kind than what God intended them to do? Who had sex with In such a way, and angels I thought couldn’t marry or give in marriage, said Jesus. So what is this all about? Aren’t you confused? No, you’re not? Because you already know what the answer is, huh? Turn to Genesis chapter 6 and let’s just see. Genesis chapter 6. Genesis 6 verse 1. Now between the day of creation… when God created man, sixth day actually of his creation, between that day and the day that the flood of Noah came, there’s 1,656 years. Now, in some of the genealogies, there are gaps, like the most prominent person is mentioned in the line. For an example, it would be Matthew 1, where it’s a poetic device. There are 14 generations between Abraham and David and 14 between David and Babylon and 14 between Babylon and Christ. Well, there’s actually more families, but it organized them into the prominent people of the line. So there are gaps in the genealogies. That’s a poetic device. Jewish poetry making everything in symmetry, in balance. But we don’t have that in the opening genealogies of Genesis 5 where it describes the beginning of man. We don’t have that at all. There are no gaps. And there are 1,656 years until the flood came. Now Enoch… the seventh from Adam, according to the book of Jude, was a preacher of prophecy and said, behold, the Lord is coming with 10,000 of his holy ones to execute judgment. Well, Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him. But he had a boy and some children before he died. Well, he lived to be 350 years old, not a bad life. But back then, longevity went up to 900 years. The average lifespan was over 900 years of the first generation. That’s a long time to live. Well, the second civilization he let live a lot longer. And they’re going to be destroyed, but not with a flood, but with fire. And that’s coming. And God’s judgment of the great tribulation is always compared with the judgment of the flood. These stories are more related than we want to admit. Now, according to this story, what made the world so awful and terrible, though every imagination of man’s heart was evil continually, is that something entered into the scene of human history that was awful. It was a demonic thing. plague, in my opinion, exactly the way it is described in Revelation 9. There are demons that are a part of this terrible, tragic, prophetic fulfillment of God’s judgment on a world that’s turned their back on him. I know it sounds weird, but I believe that God literally has bound some angels who are a part of of the sinful corruption at the time of the flood. And he is going to unleash them in the day of his judgment on the world in the great tribulation and eventually put them all into everlasting fire to suffer his vengeance. The Bible says that the lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. We aren’t going to be wiped out. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So cheer up. Things are going to get worse. But God is in control. We got nothing to worry about. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a moment or so with some final teachings, some final comments on today’s lesson. And just before that, we have David’s original sermon outlines and notes for each message in our current Revelation series. You know, these are great for following along through the series and then into the future when you want to review or share it with others. Discover and experience today. Revelation in a deeper, more encouraging fashion with our Revelation radio series on MP3 and David’s message outlines and sermon notes. You know, Jim, the Revelation series sermon notes pack is just $10. That’s sermon notes for each message in the entire series, 48 messages altogether. And you can purchase or download at davidhawking.org or receive them by PDF CD when you call us. And then you can save and store all your learning in our current series with the Revelation radio series message pack. All 48 messages on MP3 format, download or MP3 CD. Special price this month, Jim, just? Just $30. Or on DVD, a special price this month for the DVD set, $50. Go to davidhocking.org or call 1-800-75-BIBLE. In Canada, at 1-888-75-BIBLE. And Bible by the Numbers is 242-53. And your resource purchase or your donation right now will help the future ministry of Hope for Today. Again, the Revelation series sermon notes are $10. The MP3 audio set of the series is $30. And you can watch the series on DVD for just $50. And before David returns, I want to quickly mention his book, Visions of the Future. This is available for just $15. It’s a guided walk through the book of Zechariah that will help you see God’s plan for the future and give you hope for today. To order Visions of the Future, call 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online at davidhawking.org. And now as we begin this new month, I also want to let you know that hope for today depends on the prayers and financial support of listeners like you. We’re not underwritten by a large organization or a large church or sponsored by any corporate advertisers. Every day, this ministry is sustained by the faithful giving of those who believe that the whole Bible, taught without compromise, must be proclaimed. And your support makes a direct impact. It makes you a part of the ministry. Every broadcast you hear, every free online message we stream, every Bible City resource we mail out, It all happens because people like you decide to partner with us. If Hope for Today has blessed you, strengthened your faith, or helped you understand the scriptures more clearly, would you consider making a gift this month? We can sure use the help. You can send your gift to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8, P1. And here’s David.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is an amazing passage of Scripture in Revelation. We read in verse 14 that four angels were bound up in the river Euphrates, and then they were loose for an hour, day, month, and year. And here’s the interesting fact. To slay the third part of men. Incredible. And the number of this army, 200,000,000, 200 million. And I heard the number of them. Wow. This is amazing indeed. And we’re going to be a couple more days in this wonderful chapter and trying to understand all this. There’s a lot of people who connect this with China because of the enormous amount of military, and the kings of the east could be many different groupings, but they’re crossing Euphrates River, which dries up. I mean, this is really amazing. Well, I hope that you enjoy our study and that you’ll just take a look at Revelation once again as God’s future for planet Earth and what’s going to happen all the way to the glorious New Jerusalem. So plan to be with us, and hopefully we’ll be able to put the pieces together and help you understand. Thank you for listening, and God bless you.
SPEAKER 01 :
On our next broadcast, we continue looking at that army from the east, 200 million strong, marching with a fury that leaves fire, smoke, and sulfur in its wake. One-third of mankind falls as this judgment unfolds. It’s Revelation 9, verses 13 to 21. We’re back there next time on Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking.
